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Promotion and maintenance of contact between child and family

15(1)Where a child is being looked after by a local authority, the authority shall, unless it is not reasonably practicable or consistent with his welfare, endeavour to promote contact between the child and—

(a)his parents;

(b)any person who is not a parent of his but who has parental responsibility for him; and

(c)any relative, friend or other person connected with him.

(2)Where a child is being looked after by a local authority—

(a)the authority shall take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that—

(i)his parents; and

(ii)any person who is not a parent of his but who has parental responsibility for him,

are kept informed of where he is being accommodated; and

(b)every such person shall secure that the authority are kept informed of his or her address.

(3)Where a local authority (“the receiving authority”) take over the provision of accommodation for a child from another local authority (“the transferring authority”) under section 20(2)—

(ii)any person who is not a parent of his but who has parental responsibility for him;

(b)sub-paragraph (2)(a) shall apply to the transferring authority, as well as the receiving authority, until at least one such person has been informed of the change; and

(c)sub-paragraph (2)(b) shall not require any person to inform the receiving authority of his address until he has been so informed.

(4)Nothing in this paragraph requires a local authority to inform any person of the whereabouts of a child if—

(a)the child is in the care of the authority; and

(b)the authority has reasonable cause to believe that informing the person would prejudice the child’s welfare.

(5)Any person who fails (without reasonable excuse) to comply with sub-paragraph (2)(b) shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

(6)It shall be a defence in any proceedings under sub-paragraph (5) to prove that the defendant was residing at the same address as another person who was the child’s parent or had parental responsibility for the child and had reasonable cause to believe that the other person had informed the appropriate authority that both of them were residing at that address.

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